Defamation, Libel, and Slander
' Defamation',' libel '''and '''slander' are very well-known problems online and outside of the interweb. This page explains what defamation is. '1. What is defamation?' Defamation is a communication that conveys a potentially harmful statement about an individual, business, government, country, religion, or group while putting the individual up to contempt, hatred, ridicule, or scorn. For a statement to be proved to have been defamatory it must meet the criteria that: # The statement must be proven to be false. # The defendant or defamer must have intended to cause harm or was negligent. # Proof that harm occurred an effect of this statement. # For an individual to be defamed, he must be a publicly known figure. Defamation occurs in two different ways, also known as torts. A tort is legal jargon referring to “a wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to civil legal liability.” The two torts related to defamation are libel and slander. 2. Slander Slander is the spoken or verbal defamation. However, if this slander occurs over a broadcast or recording, it becomes libel due to the potential of wide-spread publication. '3. Libel' Libel is a tort of defamation that must be # Published: Received by a third-party that is neither the defamed or defamer. # Identification: The defamed must be identified either by name or likeness in video, description, or photograph by those who are familiar with the defamed. # Defamatory: The statement must be proven to be defamatory. # Falsity: The statement must be proven false to be libelous. # Fault: The defamer's action/s must be proven to have been acted out in malice or either by negligence. If a court finds one of these sections to not be proven, the action is not libelous. ^2 However, if a statement is proven to be libelous, there are three defenses for the action. # Truth is the ultimate defense against defamation, slander, or libel. If something isn't true, it isn't defamation. # Privilege: ## Absolute privilege is give to those involved in making laws. For example, in a session of congress, if one member of the Senate called another member an adulterer, they would be privileged and couldn't be sued for libel. However, if a reporter were to use that statement in writing a story about how the accused was in fact an adulterer, the reporter would be libeling the senator. ## Fair & Honest Reporting: If the reporter from above however, were to take the information from the senate meeting and stated that Senator A called Senator B and adulterer, this would be fair and honest reporting and would not be libel. This is because the reporter was not claiming that the accusation was factual. # Protection of Opinion: Those who are claiming a protection of opinion claim a “belief or idea held with confidence but is not substantiated by direct proof or knowledge.” There are three defenses for opinion which are as follows: ## Rhetorical Hyperbole ## The First Amendment ## Fair Comment and Criticism: For an opinion to fall under this, the statement must: ### The comment considered libelous must be an opinion statement. ### The comment focuses on a subject of legitimate public interest. ### Must have a factual basis.^3 If a judge finds one of the defenses of protection of opinion to be valuable, it is likely a defamation case may be dismissed. '4. The examples how defamation, libel and slander do occur.' Generally, the targets of defamation, libel and slander are celebrities or popular enterprises in a society. One can get damages from both of the true and fake stories and each case can be the examples of defamation, libel and slander. If the statement is for the same of public benefits, one can avoid punishment of defamation, libel and slander. However, since it is very difficult to determine the case whether it is for public benefits or not, one would easily get punished if his or her writing affects a celebrity's life or enterprise public images. '5. The law related to defamation, libel and slander' There are 2 ways to get punished when someone occurs defamation, libel and slander. (Bluensya, Korea) #The person would pay less than 4800 dollars or go to jail for less than 2 years with the true stories. #The person would pay less than 8800 dollars or go to jail for less than 10 years with the fake stories. When you visit "Internet Law for Defamation, Libel and Slander", there is more detailed information about internet law of defamation, libel and slander. Special law would be applied for the case online, giving severe punishment of the crime. '6. Alleviating Defamation Efforts' The ways by which defamation, libel, and slander apply to the internet are circumstantial. If a user makes a possibly defamatory statement online that is published – it can be considered libel even if the post is removed. However, if the statement is slanderous, it can only become libelous if it is shared, heard, or seen by a third-party. An example of this would be a phone call through Skype that was overheard by another. Regardless of intent, that statement of slander becomes libelous. Although restrictions can apply to accessibility and privacy, users ultimately lose total control of the content once it is released to potential recipients. Footnotes: 1) Pember, D.R. (2013). Libel: Establishing a Case. In Mass Media Law 18th'' Edition.'' (153-178). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. 2) Pember, D.R. (2013). Libel: Proof of Fault. In Mass Media Law 18th'' Edition.'' (180-215). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. 3) Pember, D.R. (2013). Libel: Defenses and Damages. In Mass Media Law 18th'' Edition.'' (218-251). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.